LOGINJacob’s POV I stood among the ashes at the old oak as the first full light of morning broke over the ruined camp. The air still carried the sharp smell of smoke and blood. Thorn was gone forever. His army had been reduced to scattered shadows that were already dissolving into nothing under the rising sun. The pack was alive, but it was devastated. Many of our wolves lie dead on the ground. Many more were wounded and struggling to stand. The central camp was in ruins, with tents burned or torn apart and barricades broken beyond repair. My thoughts felt heavy with the weight of leadership. We had won the battle, but the cost was almost too high to bear. I looked at the faces around me. Some wolves stared at the ground in exhaustion. Others helped the wounded or carried the dead toward the mourning fire. We had survived, but survival alone was not enough. We still had to rebuild what was left. I raised my voice so every surviving wolf could hear me clearly. “Thorn is dead. We paid
Jacob’s POV I stood ready at the front of the defensive circle around the old oak. Thorn’s giant shadow construct loomed over us like a mountain of darkness. Its massive form blocked out the moonlight. The remaining pack fought desperately behind me. Bodies lay everywhere across the field. The air was thick with the smell of blood and shadow. Howls and screams filled the night. My thoughts stayed fixed on one goal: buy time for the echo to do something, anything. We were tired. We were outnumbered. But I would not let Thorn reach Faye and the baby. Not while I still stood. I shouted to the pack. “Hold the circle! Do not let him reach the child! Fight with everything you have left!” Riven answered from my left. “We hold! No one gets through!” Lira shouted from the right. “Push them back! For the Luna!” Thorn laughed from behind his construct. The sound rolled across the field like thunder. “Your circle will break. The child will be mine.” He raised one massive arm and se
Jacob’s POV I led the battered pack toward the old oak as the sun began to set. The journey was slow and painful. Many wolves limped. Others carried the wounded on makeshift stretchers. The moonstone in Elara’s hands glowed only faintly. The Lunaris echo inside Faye and the baby had grown faint. We had survived the night, but we were running on nothing but will. This was where it ended—one way or another. The old oak stood tall in the clearing, its ancient branches spreading wide. The ground around it felt different, heavy with the weight of old power. We formed a defensive circle around the tree. The Warriors stood shoulder to shoulder. Archers took positions on the low branches. The inner circle held the most wounded and the children. Faye stood near the trunk with our daughter strapped to her chest. Elara stayed right beside her, the cracked moonstone ready for one final use. I looked at every face in the circle. “This is our ground. We do not run. We end Thorn here.” Riv
Faye’s POV My legs gave out the moment the massive echo surge ended. The baby stayed safe in my arms, but the Lunaris echo inside us had grown faint and exhausted. Every breath felt heavy. My body ached from the poison that still lingered and from the power I had just pushed out. The silver light around us dimmed until it was barely a glow. The battlefield was littered with bodies. Pack wolves and shadow wolves lay mixed across the grass. Blood soaked the ground. Broken weapons and burned armor covered the field. The camp behind us stood in ruins. Tents were torn or burned. Smoke rose from dying fires. The air smelled of blood and ash. I forced myself to stand. My legs shook, but I would not stay down. Our daughter stirred against my chest. Her small warmth gave me the last bit of strength I needed. Jacob reached me first. He put one arm around my waist to steady me. “Faye, you pushed too hard. Sit down.” I shook my head. “Not yet. The pack needs to hear from me.” I looke
Jacob’s POV I forced myself up from the ground. Pain shot through my ribs and my leg, but I ignored it. Thorn charged straight at Faye and the baby. His massive body moved fast across the field. Shadow chains whipped around him. The battlefield was absolute chaos. Shadow wolves clashed with our pack everywhere. Fires raged in broken tents. Howls and screams filled the air. My thoughts stayed on one thing only. Nothing touches my family. I would stop Thorn here. I roared his name and threw myself between them. “Thorn!” I crashed into him with my full weight. Our blades met hard. The impact shook my arms. Thorn swung his clawed fist. I ducked and slashed across his side. Black energy hissed where my blade cut. “You dare stand in my way again?” Thorn growled. He drove his shoulder into my chest. The blow knocked me back a step. I recovered fast and slashed at his arm. “You will not touch them!” Faye held the baby tight behind me. Her voice rang out clear and strong. “Jacob,
Jacob’s POV The battlefield had become total war. Howls tore through the air. Steel clashed against claw and shadow armor. The roar of the Lunaris echoes mixed with the dark pulse of Thorn’s power, shaking the ground beneath my feet. Shadow wolves pressed the pack from all sides, their violet eyes glowing with relentless hunger. Fires still burned in the distance. The grass was slick with blood. Every breath tasted of smoke and death. I fought through the chaos, blade moving in savage arcs, my only goal burning in my mind like a single clear flame: stop Thorn before he reached Faye and the baby. I would die here if I had to. But he would not touch them. I roared across the field as I cut down another shadow wolf. “Thorn! Your fight is with me!” Thorn turned his massive head toward me, violet eyes blazing with dark amusement. His body, enhanced by Nyra’s stolen power, towered over the battlefield. Living shadow rippled across his skin like muscle made of night. He laughed, the
Faye POV The walk back from the clearing left me drained in the best way. My muscles ached from the repeated shifts, but the soreness felt like proof that something was changing. Umfa had answered me today—not with words, but with a quiet presence that lingered even now, like a second skin waiti
Faye povThe morning after the runes felt different from every other morning since I had arrived here. The air carried a strange stillness, as though the pack was holding its breath all at once. Sunlight came through the tent canvas in thin stripes, warming the furs where the baby slept beside me.
Faye POV My body still felt heavy from yesterday’s training, but the ache was different now—good ache, like muscles remembering they could do more. The baby slept beside me, with her tiny hand curled near her mouth, breathing slow and even. I watched her for a long minute, letting the quiet settl
Faye pov“Faye Miller. Step forward and offer your blood. Let the runes judge.”Harlan’s voice rang out clear and firm across the small stone circle behind the pack house. The words hit me like a cold wind as I stood at the edge of the circle with Jacob right beside me. His shoulder brushed mine fo







